Jeffrey B. Burton

I have enjoyed previous books by Jeffrey B. Burton. He has a knack for creating irreverent, sympathetic characters and pairing them with working dogs-- always a potent combination in my book. Although the same framework is present here, I found The Dead Years to be less satisfying.

The story is told from Cory Pratt's perspective, and I liked this twentysomething's voice. However, I found his angst over the deaths of his parents a bit of a yawn. (Why do so many characters in mysteries have parents who died tragically?) His canine partners, Alice the bloodhound and Rex the springer spaniel, did their jobs well, and Cory's sister, Crystal, is the more logical, grounded one of the pair.

The serial killer in The Dead Years is a bit different, resurrecting his reign of terror after becoming incensed over his portrayal in a Netflix documentary, and he also plays a role in Cory's dreams. Readers learn the killer's identity before Cory and Crystal do, but once they do know, it's a race to the finish.

I did enjoy this book. It's all there: fast pace, engaging story, sympathetic characters, but I have to admit that it felt as if I'd read it all before. Even a winning formula can become tired.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)… (mehr)

I always say criminal books are not my genre, but when one is written as well as this one was, I MUST read it. I have not read the prior book in this series. I would love to do so. This is a story about Mace Reid, who is hired to hunt for dead bodies, and try to determine the cause of death. He has several entertaining cadaver dogs. The pack is called The Finders. His smartest dog is named Vira. He has an ex, a girlfriend, and a huge network of friends in his field. The question is, who are the professionals and who are the criminals? You will LOVE this book if you love dogs, detective stories, drama, action, who done it type books or thrillers. Warning, it does have some graphic violence described in gory detail. I read it over 3 days because of that. Otherwise, I would have read it straight through in a day, it was THAT GOOD!… (mehr)